58. International Juvenile Justice Practices

The United States is one of few countries in the world where children can be tried as adults. For example, China will not prosecute any child under age 14 for any crime; Egypt does not hold any person under age 15 criminally responsible for crimes committed; and Albania does not try anyone in criminal court for crimes committed before age 18. In countries where prosecution of juveniles is possible, punishments and sentences are usually much less severe than those imposed in the United States. To illustrate, the sentence of life without parole for juveniles is a punishment only available in the United States.

Short-term consequences

Researchers found that juveniles housed in adult facilities are

5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than youth held in juvenile detention centers
2 times more likely to be beaten by staff than youth held in juvenile detention centers
4.6 times more likely to commit suicide than the general adolescent population
7.7 times more likely to commit suicide than adolescents in juvenile detention centers

Additionally, juveniles who witness violence during incarceration, which is more likely in adult facilities, are less likely to be deterred from future crime.
Long-term consequences

Juveniles whose cases were seen in criminal court were more likely to reoffend and to reoffend sooner than matched samples of juveniles whose cases were seen in juvenile court.
Executions of juveniles

Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, 22 offenders have been executed in the United States for crimes committed during adolescence. However, in 2005 the juvenile death penalty was abolished, and cited as cruel and unusual punishment following the ruling of the Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons.